Tonight, Noah and I boarded the Shearwater – a rustic 82-foot schooner – and sailed around the southern tip of Manhattan.

Setting off from North Cove Marina

On what has probably been the most beautiful day of the year so far, we took off from North Cove Marina with 20 fellow travellers and five or so crew. We whizzed down the Hudson River and, once we’d passed the tip of the island, the sails were up – and we were away.

We bobbed along the water, speechless as the view of One World Trade Center, New Jersey, the Statue of Liberty and Governor’s Island got prettier and prettier. The two-hour trip meant that we got to see the skyline beneath blue skies, during sun set and finally illuminated in the dark.

Farewell Manhattan

I had that ‘I’m in New York!’ moment too many times to count. It is ridiculous that I live here. And I am so glad I do things like this to appreciate it.

I got the tickets cheap, but they’re usually $50 each from Manhattan By Sail. While it’s steeper than most of the adventures I go on, I reckon it’s worth every penny – especially if you get such a fine evening as we did.

The views and sky were breathtakingly beautiful, the staff and our fellow travellers were friendly, and two hours was a perfect amount of time. It’s the sort of thing that’d be great with a few girlfriends – a way of doing the tourist thing a bit differently – or for a date.